


New Beginning

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Papa Kukui
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22049434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: It's about time Kukui knew about how Ash was doing on his new journey, hm?
Relationships: Hala & Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui, Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu
Comments: 16
Kudos: 195





	New Beginning

“You’re actually eating breakfast?”

Kukui almost choked on his spoon as he whipped his head around to meet Hala’s eyes, shivering as the morning breeze crept into the house like the feeling of being woken up in the middle of the night. He stared at the thick letter--more like a stack of letters in one colorful envelope--in the Kahuna’s hands. “Uh… ahem, hello, Kahuna-” Like a child being scolded by their parents, Kukui fell silent at Hala’s deadpanned look, glancing between Hala and his plate of food. The smell of coffee swirled around them like silky seagrass tossed around in the waves.

Hala squeezed into the house and tossed the package at Kukui. Freezing, Kukui set his food down and reached forward, fumbling for a moment before the letter securely landed in his hands. He sighed in relief, side-eyeing Hala with a flicker of warmth in his eyes as Hala grinned, exclaiming, “That was a great catch!” Tilting his head, Kukui stared down at the letter, smiling at the familiar signature encircled with Pikachu washi tape on the cover. It felt like he got a pen that flowed smoothly for once!

‘Hey Hala! Can you send this to Professor Kukui if you don’t mind? Hope you’re all doing well! From, Ash’ was what it said, alongside a crudely scribbled address to “Melemele Island, Alola.” Way too many Pikachu stamps than necessary framed the edges of the letter, alongside smudges of grass stains.

Kukui couldn’t keep his smile off his face as he took the letter and turned it around. The whole thing was decorated in either flower doodles or pokemon stickers… or actual dry pressed flowers. The flap of the envelope was sealed with a sparkly heart sticker. After a few moments of silence, Kukui blinked and peeked up at Hala, who was still staring at him.

“Oh, can I help you with anything?” he awkwardly asked. Hala scooted over and sat on the tiny sofa, nodding for Kukui to continue reading. Kukui slowly turned his head back to the letter and perfectly pried the sticker off with a satisfying click, opening the envelope and taking out a giant stack of papers sandwiched between bursts of color. The letters were all taped together in one long script, each piece of paper crinkled in some way and stained an orange color but also covered in small decorations from pokemon stickers to glued on sequins. Never mind they all smell like trees. Trying to ignore Hala’s stares, Kukui set down the letters and began to read through them, a small smile forming as he glanced over Ash’s scribbles.

A four-leaf clover was taped onto the top of the letter, alongside a few cute doodles of lightning bolts and the shape of Pikachu’s tail. ‘Dear Professor, how are my pokemon? How are you? How’s everyone in Alola? I miss you all! Tell my pokemon I miss them, alright? I hope you have been eating and sleeping well!’ 

Kukui tried to cover his grin with a hand as he stared at a picture of Ash and Pikachu doing victory signs backdropped by the sunset, surrounded with smooth pressed cherry blossoms on the page. The orange color from the sunset melted against the flowers like peach ice cream, dripping down to the green fields and hills around the two of them. ‘I’m doing great!’ An arrow was drawn in, pointing to a picture of Ash and his new friend, the latter pouting as Ash grinned. ‘This is Gou!’ Kukui’s eyes were drawn to the white pokemon beneath them, nearly blending in with the blue ocean below and puffy cotton clouds framing the edges of the photo. ‘We met while riding Lugia!’

Kukui only shook his head, letting out a fond sigh as he brushed at Ash’s photo. The texture smooth but bumpy under his fingertip, sort of like Lugia, apparently, judging by the notes on Gou’s phone. “He’s quite a special boy, hm?” Hala asked out of the blue, staring down at the letter. Blinking, Kukui glanced at Hala, slowly nodding. Hala smirked. “Maybe you should tell him-”

“Hala!” Kukui screeched. “Ash is already on friendly terms with me, I don’t need to tell him...”

“How do you know I wasn’t talking about Gou there? See, they both rode on Lugia in that picture after all.” There was a moment of silence, only broken when Kukui rustled the letters and fake-coughed, breathing in the smell of nature and pressed pansy flowers instead of responding. Chuckling, Hala sat back on the sofa, and Kukui continued reading.

‘He reminds a lot of my past rivals, actually! Despite his climbing skills, he’s a passionate, smart, and level headed kid!’ There was a small doodle of a building next to the picture. ‘We’re now both Professor Sakuragi’s research assistants!’ Kukui froze, a giggle erupting from his mouth as he looked over all the heart-shaped sticky notes with “research” on them scattered around the pages. Hala put a hand on Kukui’s shoulder as he glanced over the tourist map of the different regions wedged between the pages, causing Kukui to furrow his eyebrows.

“Kahu-Uh… Hala, excuse me for asking, but what do you need?”

“You’re happy for him.” Well, wasn’t that more random than an idea thought of in the shower?

Blinking as Hala stared at him like he was a small child beaming with their first trophy award, Kukui nodded, lightly pushing Hala’s hand off. “...Well, yeah, I’m happy he’s happy.” He stared down at a picture of a whole buffet of food as several tea bags and Chrysanthemum flowers fell into his lap. The sunrise in the photo dipped the room in gold like caramel apples. There was another selfie of Ash and Gou at one of the tables next to it, the latter just about to eat his sandwich while the former winked at the camera, hand on the edge of his hat. Pikachu was waving from the background, cheeks puffed up with food and ears blurred from twitching. Kukui peeked over at Hala as he shook his head with a nostalgic grin.

A few Kanto souvenirs fell onto the table from being wedged between the pages alongside a few Kantonese coins and candies. There was yet another photo of Pikachu farther down the page. This time, he was flying towards a Mightyena from the ceiling with an overly sweet grin on his face, fluffy fur bristling and Iron Tail ready to attack. The sunlight in the photo already made Pikachu’s yellow fur glow, but the photo being framed with what must have been several rolls of washi tape just made Pikachu seem angelic. Well, as angelic as a mouse capable of beating gods down with an innocent smile can be. “I’m glad that you let him go.” Kukui only stared at Hala as he continued, “You’re fond of him. No, don’t give me that look, I know from experience how you’re feeling.”

“...Hau’s parent- Wait, no, ignore that, definitely not that.” Kukui tried to redirect the subject but fell silent at Hala’s weak smile.

“You just admitted you want to be his parent.”

Kukui flushed in embarrassment, gaze shifting back and forth. “Oh, Hala, stop!” he whined, the only thing keeping him planted to the sofa is Ash’s letter and his growing pile of items. Hala picked up one of the Kantonese coins, a tiny speck in his hands as he examined it with a chuckle. “...Ok fine, so I acted like a father towards Ash, what about it?” Silence continued.

‘I’ll keep the Alolan sunset in my heart, always, but I can’t wait to see what awaits me!’ A picture of Ash with a serious face on the verge of breaking into a big toothy grin and Pikachu sparking on his shoulder was taped next to the text, surrounded by smooth, shiny, and different colored beads and buttons. Kukui could almost hear Ash’s loud laugh through the letter. ‘I love you guys! A big hug to you all! Thank you for being my Alolan family!’ Kukui stared at what must have been a custom made keychain of the Kanto and Alola regions intertwined with a heart, taped down with much more Pikachu washi tape than needed. 

As Kukui tried to wrestle the keychain out, Hala finally answered, “He was good for you… He was great for you, even.” Kukui thought back to the past school year, a dumb grin on his face as he looked over the last page of Ash’s letter, which was covered with photos of Ash and/or Pikachu having fun and laughing in places from flower fields to under the starry sky. Sketches and doodles filled in the rest of the space alongside more stickers and small patches of velvety ribbons, and… ‘Here’s an Omamori for you! Pikachu and I miss you a lot!’

“That, I can agree with,” Kukui said with a nod, picking up the silk amulet. “Ash did teach me a lot of life lessons and how to take care of myself, ironically.” Chuckling, Kukui held up the amulet and stared at it. “After all, he’s the one forcing me to eat and sleep. And you know he was the one who got the whole region together for my wedding!” Hala nodded, a proud smile on his face. 

“He’s done more than that, even.” At Kukui’s confused face, Hala shook his head. “I saw how much fun you had during your battle with Ash. You couldn’t stop smiling during that entire match.” Kukui set down the Omamori on the table and ran a finger over Ash’s confident ‘I promise to visit soon! With love <3, Ash and Pikachu’ and Pikachu’s ketchup paw print, and reluctantly nodded.

“Well, of course I had fun. I gotta thank him for that awesome battle.”

Even without looking at him, Kukui heard Hala’s growing smile in his voice. “And for making you happy?”

“...I do admit he makes me happy, but what does that have to do with the battle?” 

Hala chuckled, almost like he was a mentor passing on knowledge to the next generation. “Because during all this time I’ve spent watching you grow up, I haven’t seen you that excited about battling.” Freezing, Kukui slightly lowered Ash’s letter as he pursed his lips. “Don’t try to convince me otherwise. Ash actually made you care about something other than your work!” Hala glanced between Kukui and the letter in his hands with a small laugh that Kukui wanted to keep repeating like a favorite old song on the radio. “It’s like you’ve gone back to your childhood self. That innocent, curious, excitable part of yourself.”

Kukui folded back the letters with a thoughtful look, twinkling eyes catching sight of a small roll of paper wedged in between all the washi tape and underneath an origami Pikachu bookmark. As he took the note out, he mused, “He really did bring a new light into my life, huh?” After a moment of silence, Kukui sat up straight. “I’m definitely going to battle him again.”

“I’m glad someone else was able to spark that fire back in you,” Hala said, pride engulfing his voice like waves gliding over the sandy beach. Like Kukui meant the world to him. “You’ve become such a strong and capable person, Kukui. I hope you admit it.” The ‘to Ash’ was left unsaid, yet Kukui still glanced away as Hala stood up.

“Who’s being the papa now?” he mumbled under his breath, unraveling the long scroll of paper and staring down at a list of items written with different colored pens. Did Ash lose his pen several times while writing it? Kukui fondly sighed. Probably. No, who said he was being a papa- eh screw it. It would be a nice story to write to Ash about.

Things/people I’m grateful for, not in any order:

  * Life!
  * The rainbow of colors during a sunset and puffy clouds and the tides!
  * Professor Kukui being so smart and knowledgeable!
  * The smell of fireplaces while it rains outside!
  * Hala and Olivia and Nanu and Hapu and Professor Kukui and so many more people for their great battles with me!
  * The sun and moon and stars!
  * Proving my admiration for and worth to Professor Kukui!
  * Pikachu’s fur and warm hugs!
  * Being healthy!
  * Handwritten letters and homemade gifts tied up with ribbon!
  * Professor Kukui doing amazing things that inspired me to do the same!
  * The cool breeze ruffling my hair and the taste of the salty sea!
  * Smelling the flowers that grow in the cracks of concrete and climbing strong tall trees!
  * Sunny summers and vacations!
  * Feeling how proud Professor Kukui is of me!
  * The sweet smell of bakeries and taste of orange juice!
  * My body for always trying to keep me alive and making sure I breathe while I sleep and healing and fixing my injuries and always loving me!
  * Professor Kukui’s croquette sandwiches and Tapu Cocoa!
  * My warm clothes and sneakers!
  * All the new experiences and fruits and songs and people and pokemon I haven’t discovered yet!
  * Sleep!
  * Battling!
  * Pokemon!
  * Nice people who keep being kind without reward or recognition!
  * This planet!
  * Being happy!
  * Pikachu for being there for me!
  * My pokemon and friends!
  * My mom and Alolan family, for making me feel safe and loved and at home with myself!



Kukui teared up, the edges of his watery eyes like soaked leaves battered in the rain. “...Looks like Ash is starting new,” Hala said, grinning at Kukui and patting him on the shoulder before turning away. “He set up a new beginning for you as well. Use it well.” Kukui blinked, watching Hala leave with a confused expression. “And… instead of being happy for him, you should also be happy for his sake.” As the door shut, only the chirps of wild Oricorio and Pikipek remained.

Staring down at his now cool breakfast, Kukui smiled. He took one of the candies and popped it in his mouth, setting everything down on the table while picking up the Omamori. The sweet candy melted in his mouth like honey-soaked Oran berries as he stood up, the syrupy smell trailing him like a lost Rockruff. 

Climbing up to the loft and glancing over the pile that was Ash’s sleeping pokemon, Kukui hung the amulet over the ladder and picked up a camera from the shelf. He took a photo of the pokemon and set off to write Ash back. 

The golden glow splashed through the window like a streak of paint, flickering lighter and dimmer as the clouds of whipped cream on sundaes or cotton candy wrapped in wisps of sugar playfully encircled the sun. It was the dawn of a new day, and everything will be ok. 

Things/people I’m grateful for, Kukui version:

Things

  * Blank pages of new notebooks
  * Finding an extra dollar in coat pockets
  * The smell of my fav books
  * The feeling of the sunset on my back after a long swim
  * Lay down on a Friday and being able to sleep in after finishing a big paper
  * Words that warm my heart



People

  * My coworkers and the Kahunas taking time to talk to me
  * All my students
  * Feeling confident and alive for the first time in years
  * Fantasies of my future baby
  * Burnet, the love of my life, loving me back


  * You



**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by both https://ao3gangficprompts.tumblr.com/post/189748542448/pokeaniepisodes-the-alolan-sunset-really-is and https://ao3gangficprompts.tumblr.com/post/189748564283/pokeaniepisodes-kukui-isnt-the-only-proud  
> Also took inspiration from My Favorite Things - Sound Of Music  
> Random trivia: Hanakotoba (花言葉) is the Japanese form of the language of flowers.  
> I sincerely hope 2020 is an even better year than 2019 for you all! <3


End file.
